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       T R O U B L E D   C O M P A N Y   R E P O R T E R

                 L A T I N   A M E R I C A

          Thursday, April 18, 2024, Vol. 25, No. 79

                           Headlines



A R G E N T I N A

ARGENTINA: Cuts Interest Rate to 70%
ARGENTINA: Monthly Inflation Slowed More Than Expected in March


B R A Z I L

JBS SA: Lula Reunites With Owners as China Trade Ties Bloom


D O M I N I C A N   R E P U B L I C

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: National Treasurer Disbursed DOP208BB in 2023


J A M A I C A

JAMAICA: Unemployment Insurance Proposal Stirs Debate


V E N E Z U E L A

VENEZUELA: Talks With Colombian Firms Over Asset Seizures

                           - - - - -


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A R G E N T I N A
=================

ARGENTINA: Cuts Interest Rate to 70%
------------------------------------
Ignacio Olivera Doll & Kevin Simauchi at Bloomberg News report that
Argentina's Central Bank cut its main interest rate for the third
time since President Javier Milei took office as investors bet on a
fresh inflation slowdown in the nation.

Policymakers lowered rates to 70 percent from 80 percent, according
to a person with direct knowledge of the matter, according to
Bloomberg News.  The drop was later confirmed by a Central Bank
statement and communicated to traders on the local Siopel system,
Bloomberg News relays.

Borrowing costs have fallen from 13 percent in December, when the
reference instrument was the Leliq note, Bloomberg News notes.

Argentina will publish consumer price data, and economists are
expecting the third straight slowdown in the month-on-month
increase, Bloomberg News relays.  At the same time, authorities are
trying to rein in the amount of the money the Central Bank must
issue to pay its liabilities, thus further reducing cost-of-living
pressures. Still, annual inflation is running at a three-decade
high of 276 percent, Bloomberg News discloses.

The cut clashes with February guidance from the International
Monetary Fund in its latest review of Argentina's US$44-billion
program, Bloomberg News says.  At that time, staff wrote that
"going forward, the authorities agreed that the monetary policy
stance would need to be tightened to support money demand and
disinflation," Bloomberg News notes.

More broadly, IMF officials have long insisted Argentina keep
interest rates above inflation to encourage savings in pesos and
cool prices, Bloomberg News relates.

In additional measures, the Central Bank ended its credit swap with
the Bank for International Settlements, according to the statement,
Bloomberg News says.  It also increased reserve requirements for
interest-bearing accounts of money market mutual funds to 10
percent from zero percent, Bloomberg News discloses.
                     
                         About Argentina

Argentina is a country located mostly in the southern half of South
America. Its capital is Buenos Aires. Javier Milei is the current
president of Argentina after winning the November 19, 2023 general
election. He succeeded Alberto Angel Fernandez in the position.

Argentina has the third largest economy in Latin America.  The
country's economy is an upper middle-income economy for fiscal year
2019, according to the World Bank. Historically, however, its
economic performance has been very uneven, with high economic
growth alternating with severe recessions, income maldistribution
and in the recent decades, increasing poverty.

The IMF's executive board completed on August 23, 2023, the fifth
and six reviews of Argentina's 30-month Extended Fund Facility
(EFF), and approved a US$7.5-billion disbursement to Argentina as
part of the larger program, which refinances payments Argentina
owes the institution from a previous bailout that failed to
stabilize the economy in 2018. Argentina would receive another IMF
disbursement in November of about US$2.75 billion pending another
staff-level agreement and board approval.

S&P Global Ratings, on March 15, 2024, raised its local currency
sovereign credit ratings on Argentina to 'CCC/C' from 'SD/SD' and
its national scale rating to 'raB+' from 'SD'. S&P also raised its
long-term foreign currency sovereign credit rating to 'CCC' from
'CCC-' and affirmed its 'C' short-term foreign currency rating. The
outlook on the long-term ratings is stable. In addition, S&P
revised its transfer and convertibility assessment to 'CCC' from
'CCC-'.

S&P said the stable outlook on the long-term ratings balances the
risks posed by pronounced economic imbalances and policy
uncertainties with the favorable change in near-term debt service
obligations. S&P also expect no further debt exchanges that it
would likely consider to be distressed.

Fitch Ratings upgraded on June 13, 2023, Argentina's Long-Term
Foreign Currency (FC) Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'CC' from
'C'and affirmed the Long-Term Local Currency (LC) IDR at 'CCC-'.
Fitch typically does not assign Outlooks to sovereigns with a
rating of 'CCC+' or below.

The upgrade of the FC IDR reflects that Fitch no longer deems a
default-like process to have begun, as the authorities have not
signaled a clear intention to follow through with an intra-public
debt swap announced in March. The new 'CC' rating signals a default
event of some sort appears probable in the coming years, regardless
of the outcome of upcoming elections. The affirmation of the LC IDR
at 'CCC-' follows the peso debt swap in June that Fitch did not
deem to be a "distressed debt exchange" (DDE).

Moody's Investors Service, in September 2022, affirmed Argentina's
Ca foreign-currency and local-currency long-term issuer and senior
unsecured ratings.  The outlook remains stable.  The decision to
affirm the Ca ratings balances Argentina's limited market access,
weak governance, and history of recurrent debt restructurings with
recent efforts to marshal fiscal and monetary measures to start
addressing underlying macroeconomic imbalances in the context of
the IMF program that was approved in 2022, according to Moody's.

DBRS, Inc. confirmed Argentina's Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer
Rating at CCC and downgraded its Long-Term Local Currency Issuer
Rating to CCC from CCC (high) on March 3, 2023.


ARGENTINA: Monthly Inflation Slowed More Than Expected in March
---------------------------------------------------------------
Patrick Gillespie at Bloomberg News reports that inflation in
Argentina slowed more than expected in March, cooling for the third
straight month as President Javier Milei's austerity hurts consumer
spending.

Consumer prices rose 11 percent from February to March, less than
economists expectations for 12.1 percent, according to published
government data, notes Bloomberg News.  From a year ago, inflation
accelerated to 287.9 percent, the highest level since Argentina
exited hyperinflation in the early 1990s, Bloomberg News recalls.

Inflation data comes a day after Argentina's central bank cut its
benchmark rate to 70 percent, citing monthly price increases
slowing even as the annual rate remains well above borrowing costs,
Bloomberg News notes.

Four months into office, Milei has lifted price controls, devalued
the peso and slashed government spending on social security and
public sector workers' paycheques when adjusted for inflation,
Bloomberg News says.  That recipe has translated into sales tanking
at shopping centres, limiting the degree to which businesses can
continue raising prices going forward, Bloomberg News notes.
Inflation expectations have also cooled as Milei hasn't wavered on
his austerity drive, Bloomberg News discloses.

Economists surveyed by Argentina's Central Bank see monthly
inflation cooling below 10 percent in May, an earlier-than-expected
timeframe, Bloomberg News relays.  Annual inflation is projected to
end this year at 189 percent, Bloomberg News adds.

                      About Argentina

Argentina is a country located mostly in the southern half of South
America. Its capital is Buenos Aires. Javier Milei is the current
president of Argentina after winning the November 19, 2023 general
election. He succeeded Alberto Angel Fernandez in the position.

Argentina has the third largest economy in Latin America.  The
country's economy is an upper middle-income economy for fiscal year
2019, according to the World Bank. Historically, however, its
economic performance has been very uneven, with high economic
growth alternating with severe recessions, income maldistribution
and in the recent decades, increasing poverty.

The IMF's executive board completed on August 23, 2023, the fifth
and six reviews of Argentina's 30-month Extended Fund Facility
(EFF), and approved a US$7.5-billion disbursement to Argentina as
part of the larger program, which refinances payments Argentina
owes the institution from a previous bailout that failed to
stabilize the economy in 2018. Argentina would receive another IMF
disbursement in November of about US$2.75 billion pending another
staff-level agreement and board approval.

S&P Global Ratings, on March 15, 2024, raised its local currency
sovereign credit ratings on Argentina to 'CCC/C' from 'SD/SD' and
its national scale rating to 'raB+' from 'SD'. S&P also raised its
long-term foreign currency sovereign credit rating to 'CCC' from
'CCC-' and affirmed its 'C' short-term foreign currency rating. The
outlook on the long-term ratings is stable. In addition, S&P
revised its transfer and convertibility assessment to 'CCC' from
'CCC-'.

S&P said the stable outlook on the long-term ratings balances the
risks posed by pronounced economic imbalances and policy
uncertainties with the favorable change in near-term debt service
obligations. S&P also expect no further debt exchanges that it
would likely consider to be distressed.

Fitch Ratings upgraded on June 13, 2023, Argentina's Long-Term
Foreign Currency (FC) Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'CC' from
'C'and affirmed the Long-Term Local Currency (LC) IDR at 'CCC-'.
Fitch typically does not assign Outlooks to sovereigns with a
rating of 'CCC+' or below.

The upgrade of the FC IDR reflects that Fitch no longer deems a
default-like process to have begun, as the authorities have not
signaled a clear intention to follow through with an intra-public
debt swap announced in March. The new 'CC' rating signals a default
event of some sort appears probable in the coming years, regardless
of the outcome of upcoming elections. The affirmation of the LC IDR
at 'CCC-' follows the peso debt swap in June that Fitch did not
deem to be a "distressed debt exchange" (DDE).

Moody's Investors Service, in September 2022, affirmed Argentina's
Ca foreign-currency and local-currency long-term issuer and senior
unsecured ratings.  The outlook remains stable.  The decision to
affirm the Ca ratings balances Argentina's limited market access,
weak governance, and history of recurrent debt restructurings with
recent efforts to marshal fiscal and monetary measures to start
addressing underlying macroeconomic imbalances in the context of
the IMF program that was approved in 2022, according to Moody's.

DBRS, Inc. confirmed Argentina's Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer
Rating at CCC and downgraded its Long-Term Local Currency Issuer
Rating to CCC from CCC (high) on March 3, 2023.



===========
B R A Z I L
===========

JBS SA: Lula Reunites With Owners as China Trade Ties Bloom
-----------------------------------------------------------
scmp.com reports that the billionaire Batista brothers' stunning
comeback is thrusting them into Brazil's highest circles of power
less than three weeks after their appointment to the board of JBS
SA.

Wesley and Joesley Batista - who grew their family butcher shop
into the world's largest meat producer with crucial help from
Brazil's development bank during President Luiz Inacio Lula da
Silva's past administrations, then became involved in a massive
corruption scandal that brought down thousands of politicians
including Lula - are now hosting the leftist leader in one of their
plants that will start exporting to China, according to scmp.com.

The reports that encounter in Campo Grande, a centre-west capital
in Brazil's agricultural heartland, is part of Lula's bet that
increasing agricultural exports to the world's second-largest
economy can help reproduce the commodities-fuelled good times he
oversaw in the beginning of the century.

They met at a JBS factory that is set to make the first shipment of
meat to China as part of new export agreement reached in the wake
of Lula's trip to the country last year, the report notes.  A total
of 38 Brazilian plants recently received authorization to send
products to the Asian nation, the report relays.

"This family is predestined for success," Lula said during the
event, notes the report.  "Joesley and Wesley are responsible for
this company becoming the largest animal protein company in the
world. This is a source of pride for me. If we want, we can do
anything we dream," he added.

JBS plans to invest roughly 150 million reais (US$29 million) to
double daily production capacity at the Campo Grande facility to
4,400 cattle heads, Chief Executive Officer Gilberto Tomazoni said
during the ceremony, the report notes.

scmp.com relays that Brazil already relies on China for more than
half of its beef exports and 70 per cent of its soybean shipments.
But Lula last year sent hundreds of leaders from the country's
influential agribusiness sector to Beijing in hopes of convincing
Chinese President Xi Jinping's government to further deepen its
dependence on Brazilian farm products, the report discloses.

The authorization of the 38 plants is expected to boost Brazil's
trade balance by 10 billion reais (US$2 billion) over the next
year, Roberto Perosa, the agriculture ministry's secretary of
commerce and international relations, said at a press conference,
the report notes.

It comes at a crucial time for Lula: A year after a bumper harvest
helped fuel an export boom and better-than-expected growth, Latin
America's largest economy is widely expected to slow across 2024 -
in part because of lingering uncertainty about China's strength,
the report relays.

For the Batistas, who control JBS through their family holding firm
J&F Investimentos SA, the event is the latest step in their return
to prominence in Brazil and worldwide, the report says.  The
brothers who spearheaded the company's overseas expansion left it
after confessing to bribing hundreds of politicians in a 2017 plea
deal with Brazilian authorities, the report notes.

But they were part of the delegation that Lula sent to China last
year, the report relays.  And in late March, they were named to the
JBS board, paving the way for their return to the meat giant their
father founded as a small butchery more than 70 years ago, the
report discloses.

JBS is now the world's largest supplier of beef and chicken.  In
Brazil, its US$73 billion in annual revenues rank second only to
Petroleo Brasileiro SA, the country's state-controlled oil
behemoth, the report says.

The brothers are set to join the board in the midst of the
company's push to list its shares in the US, as it attempts to
access cheaper financing and more equity to continue making deals,
the report notes.  The effort, however, has faced pushback from
lawmakers in the UK who argue that its practices pose a threat to
the environment, the report relays.

It remains unclear whether Lula's government will back the company
it once helped boost, the report discloses.  Brazil's national
development bank, which will be key for the proposal's approval,
has not yet said publicly whether it supports the move, the report
adds.

Asked about the administration's position, Agriculture Minister
Carlos Favaro did not comment.

                        About JBS SA

As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America in
August 2021, S&P Global Ratings revised the global scale outlook
on JBS S.A. (JBS) and its fully owned subsidiary JBS USA Lux S.A.
(JBS USA) to positive from stable and affirmed its 'BB+' issuer
credit rating. The recovery expectations remain unchanged, and S&P
affirmed the 'BB+' ratings on the senior unsecured notes and the
'BBB' ratings on the secured term loans.




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D O M I N I C A N   R E P U B L I C
===================================

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: National Treasurer Disbursed DOP208BB in 2023
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dominican Today reports that in a press release, the National
Treasurer announced that in 2023, it disbursed over DOP208 billion
to suppliers and contractors of the Dominican State.

National Treasurer Luis Rafael Delgado Sanchez disclosed that this
sum encompasses US$228,882,737 dollars and 25,894.10 euros,
according to Dominican Today.  He also highlighted that the names
of the beneficiaries are published on the institutional website,
ensuring transparency in the payment process, the report notes.

"To provide citizens with access to the specific details of each
payment order individualized by supplier or beneficiary, this data
is available on our institutional website. I encourage everyone to
visit www.tesoreria.gob.do for comprehensive information," stated
Delgado Sanchez, the report relays.

He further emphasized that these actions underscore President Luis
Abinader's commitment to transparency and integrity in public
affairs, the report notes.

However, it's important to note that these payments solely reflect
transactions processed through the Treasury Single Account System
(CUT) from January to December 2023, the report adds.

                     About Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean nation that shares the island
of Hispaniola with Haiti to the west. Capital city Santo Domingo
has Spanish landmarks like the Gothic Catedral Primada de America
dating back 5 centuries in its Zona Colonial district. Luis Rodolfo
Abinader Corona is the current president of the nation.

TCR-LA reported in April 2019 that Juan Del Rosario of the UASD
Economic Faculty cited a current economic slowdown for the
Dominican Republic and cautioned that if the trend continues,
growth would reach only 4% by 2023. Mr. Del Rosario said that if
that happens, "we'll face difficulties in meeting international
commitments."

An ongoing concern in the Dominican Republic is the inability of
participants in the electricity sector to establish financial
viability for the system.

On December 4, 2023, the TCR-LA reported that Fitch Ratings has
affirmed Dominican Republic's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer
Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB-' and revised the Outlook to Positive
from Stable. Fitch says the Positive Outlook reflects a trend
improvement in governance, and robust growth prospects that should
lead to continued gains in per capita income.  According to Fitch,
growth has decelerated in 2023, but it expects Dominican Republic
to recover to high levels during 2024-2025. External liquidity
metrics have improved in recent years, and foreign currency share
of government debt is on a downward path.

In August 2023, Moody's Investors Service changed the outlook on
the Government of Dominican Republic's ratings to positive from
stable and affirmed the local and foreign-currency long-term issuer
and senior unsecured ratings at Ba3.  Moody's said the key drivers
for the outlook change to positive  are: (i) sustained high growth
rates have enhanced the scale and wealth levels of the economy; and
(ii) a material decline in the government debt burden coupled with
improved fiscal policy effectiveness will support medium-term debt
sustainability.

The affirmation of the Ba3 ratings balances the Dominican
Republic's strong economic growth dynamics and relatively contained
susceptibility to event risks, with a comparatively weaker fiscal
position, reflecting long-standing credit challenges which include:
(i) a shallow revenue base compared to peers, (ii) weak debt
affordability metrics, and (iii) high exposure to foreign currency
borrowing.

S&P Global Ratings, in December 2022, raised its long-term foreign
and local currency sovereign credit ratings on the Dominican
Republic to 'BB' from 'BB-'. The outlook on the long-term ratings
is stable. S&P affirmed its 'B' short-term sovereign credit
ratings. S&P also revised its transfer and convertibility (T&C)
assessment to 'BBB-' from 'BB+'.  The stable outlook reflects S&P's
expectation of continued favorable GDP growth and policy continuity
over the next 12-18 months that will likely stabilize the
government's debt burden.

In February 2023, S&P said its BB ratings reflect the country's
fast-growing and resilient economy.  It also incorporates the
country's historical political and social challenges in passing
structural reforms to contain fiscal deficits, despite recent
improvements in the electricity sector. The ratings are constrained
by relatively high debt, a hefty interest burden, and limited
monetary policy flexibility.




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J A M A I C A
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JAMAICA: Unemployment Insurance Proposal Stirs Debate
-----------------------------------------------------
Codie-Ann Barrett at Jamaica Observer reports that Economist Dr
Damien King said he believes the proposed unemployment insurance
that is being pushed by Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke should be
a replacement for redundancy payments, but the suggestion has not
found favor with Unions.

"Supporting a laid-off person between jobs is a key part of a
social safety net. It should be a cost borne by society.
Unemployment insurance (UI) will do that. But redundancy payments
serve the same purpose, except they are unfairly imposed on the
employer. So UI should replace it," King wrote in a recent post on
X (formerly Twitter), according to Jamaica Observer.

King made the suggestion after Clarke indicated in his budget
presentation on March 12 that the Government is taking steps to
implement an unemployment insurance scheme and will borrow US$20
million from the World Bank to provide the Ministry of Labor and
Social Security with the technical support to implement it, the
report notes.  Though Clarke did not suggest that unemployment
insurance will replace redundancy payments when employees lose
their jobs, King said it should, the report relays.

"Unemployment insurance is a better way to do it because the need
to tide people over until they get a new job is a social
responsibility and shouldn't be imposed on the individual firm in
the first place," King explained in an interview with the Jamaica
Observer.

The idea of having an unemployment insurance scheme in Jamaica is
not new, but the issue came up for consideration in recent times
after the experience of COVID-19 and the economic and social impact
from the loss of jobs. Clarke said that experience brought home the
need for a funded scheme that provides temporary income support in
the event of unemployment, the report discloses.

King, in illustrating his rationale for calling for the scheme to
replace redundancy payments, said pressuring companies to continue
paying employees in a scenario where they are seeing a decline in
sales can ultimately lead to them going out of business,
jeopardizing the livelihoods of those who remain employed, the
report says.

"It really should be something that the collective pays for, and
that's where unemployment insurance comes in.  Everybody
contributes, whether it's through an explicit insurance scheme
involving contributions from both employers and employees into a
pool or through taxation.  Either way, it ensures that everyone
contributes to support those who end up losing their jobs through
no fault of their own," explained Dr King, the report says.

For his part, Clarke suggested that it is likely that the employees
who contribute to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) would be
automatically included in unemployment insurance, the report
notes.

But King is not the only one advocating for unemployment insurance
to replace redundancy payments, the report discloses.  Wayne Chen,
president of the Jamaica Employers Federation (JEF), echoed a
similar perspective, the report relays.

"Over time, redundancy payments have evolved into a disincentive
and an additional cost burden for formal employment.  It's no
coincidence that a substantial portion of Jamaica's workforce,
estimated at around 40 per cent, operates in the informal sector.
Even within the formal sector, a significant number are engaged in
short-term contracts, often structured to avoid the hefty burden of
redundancy payments," Chen shared with the Caribbean Business
Report in an interview, Jamaica Observer discloses.

It is not clear how much redundancy payments cost companies in
aggregate, but Clarke said the proposed unemployment insurance,
which is to be funded by employee and employer deductions could
cost between 0.8 per and 1.5 per cent of a person's salary,
according to a feasibility study, "with capital contribution from
the Government of a few billion dollars for this benefit to be
provided," the report notes.

With an estimated 40 per cent of the economy operating informally,
and most working in small and medium-sized enterprises, or
operating outside the scope of regulations such as Pay As You Earn
(PAYE) or the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), Chen stresses that
it's imperative to manage the situation carefully, recognising that
social protection is a shared responsibility benefiting all
citizens, the report relays.

"In Jamaica, we hold certain expectations, such as access to public
health care, education, and some form of basic pension. When it
comes to unemployment benefits, the burden has historically fallen
on employers.  However, unemployment insurance offers a universal
benefit, potentially benefiting every Jamaican," Chen highlighted,
the report discloses.

However, trade unions are not finding favor with the proposal to do
away with redundancy payments once unemployment insurance is
introduced, the report relays.

"The concept of redundancy was established by wise individuals to
benefit the working class," stated Granville Valentine, general
secretary at the National Workers Union of Jamaica.  "I'm aware
that some members of our society are trying to get rid of
redundancy - which is something I can't support and will not
support," he affirmed, the report relays.

Valentine stressed that he welcomed the introduction of an
unemployment insurance scheme, but said it should be seen as
something to enhance redundancy payments rather than replace it,
the report notes.

"It is something the trade union movement will not give up, no
matter who is in Government. It will not be an easy one, so if
anyone is thinking of a replacement, it must enhance the package
that is there. But it is not fully understood what the insurance
scheme will be as yet," he said firmly, the report says.

Valentine stressed to the Caribbean Business Report that he would
need to see clearly what is being offered before making a decision,
as there are aspects that need to be reviewed and clarified,
especially since redundancy payment is a legacy item, the report
notes.

"I don't see the fine print of the requirements of the insurance,
but from what I've heard, it doesn't suffice.  In my view, the
redundancy formula should stay, and then we can introduce
unemployment insurance," added Valentine, the report discloses.

St Patrice Ennis, president of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade
Unions (JCTU), an umbrella group consisting of 11 trade unions,
shares his views, stressing that an unemployment insurance scheme
and redundancy payments are two distinct matters, the report says.

"We see unemployment insurance as something that for many people
would be for a . . . finite period. We view that as a stop gap
measure in order to assist the worker in tiding them over until he
or she finds new employment.  Redundancy is not the same. I think
we are conflating two different things," Ennis told the Caribbean
Business Report, the report notes.

Jamaica Observer relays that Ennis points out that redundancy
compensation is not only paid to employers who are being separated
from a company for economic reasons, but also those separate for
medical reasons, which means that, depending on the medical issue,
some people who receive redundancy payments may not be able to
re-enter the job market.

However, both King and Chen argued that redundancy payments and
unemployment insurance serve the same purpose — providing income
to those laid off o help tide them over until they secure a new
job— and that there's no need to address the same issue twice by
having both systems in place, the report notes.

"You don't want the person to end up with more income for being
laid off than they had while working," King remarked, the report
relays.

Chen had similar sentiments.

"There's no principled reason for that [co-existing systems]. You
don't want to have two bites of the cherry.  While they may
co-exist temporarily, and may be included in individual employment
contracts, it's unjust to ask employers to pay redundancy and then
turn around and pay for unemployment insurance," Chen stated
strongly, the report discloses.

Still, not dismissing the concerns about the burden that redundancy
payments place on small and medium-sized enterprises, Ennis
asserted that the issue has been discussed before and that there
was widespread advocacy in the past for the establishment of a pool
of funds to handle redundancy situations, the report says.  But he
said that proposal was knocked by members of the private sector who
said it was tantamount to asking them to pay for the inefficiencies
of other private sector companies, the report relays.

For Chen though, the hope is that the best system will be developed
for Jamaica, the report notes.

"The Government, employers, and unions must sit down and work out
what is equitable and what allows our workforce to remain
competitive and productive," said Chen, the report relays.

Once implemented, Jamaica would join countries like Barbados and
The Bahamas with such a structure for social stability, the report
notes.  In Barbados, an unemployed persons is paid an unemployment
insurance equivalent to 60 per cent of their average weekly wages
for up to six months, while in The Bahamas, the payment amounts to
50 per cent of average wages and is paid for three months, the
report adds.

                        About Jamaica

Jamaica is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea.
Jamaica is an upper-middle income country with an economy heavily
dependent on tourism.  Other major sectors of the Jamaican economy
include agriculture, mining, manufacturing, petroleum refining,
financial and insurance services.

In October 2023, Moody's upgraded the Government of Jamaica's
long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings to B1 from B2, and
senior unsecured shelf rating to (P)B1 from (P)B2. The outlook has
been changed to positive from stable.  The upgrade of Jamaica's
rating to B1 reflects the government's sustained commitment to
fiscal consolidation and debt reduction.  The positive outlook
reflects Moody's assessment that a continuation of the favorable
fiscal trajectory will further increase Jamaica's credit
resilience.

S&P Global Ratings raised on September 13, 2023, its long-term
foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Jamaica to
'BB-' from 'B+', and affirmed its short-term foreign and local
currency sovereign credit ratings at 'B'.  The stable outlook
reflects S&P's expectation that the government will remain
committed to prudent fiscal policies and reducing debt, as well as
supportive economic policies including a flexible exchange rate
regime and effective monetary policy.  

In March 2022, Fitch Ratings affirmed Jamaica's Long-Term Foreign
Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'B+'. The Rating Outlook is
Stable.



=================
V E N E Z U E L A
=================

VENEZUELA: Talks With Colombian Firms Over Asset Seizures
---------------------------------------------------------
Bloomberg News reports that the socialist government of Venezuela
is discussing compensation with at least two Colombian companies
whose assets were seized under late President Hugo Chavez.

Colombia's largest cement maker, Cementos Argos SA, is in talks
involving the possible takeover of a state-owned cement plant near
Venezuela's Caribbean coast, according to German Umana, Colombia's
minister of commerce, trade and tourism, according to Bloomberg
News.

An expropriated subsidiary of Cali-based sugar exporter
Comercializadora Internacional de Azucares y Mieles, Ciamsa, is
also in negotiations for compensation, Umana said, the report
relays.

After years of tension, relations between the countries improved
after Gustavo Petro won Colombian presidency in 2022 and
immediately restored ties and reopened the border, the report
notes.

Venezuela seems to want to resolve these commercial disputes
without a legal battle, Umana said, in an interview at his office
in Bogota, the report relates.

Umana, who previously headed the Colombian-Venezuelan chamber of
commerce, said that he had helped with the discussions, the report
says.

Chavez ordered hundreds of expropriations during his 1999-2013
presidency, from cattle ranches and food factories to parking lots
and insurance companies, in line with his socialist vision of
increasing the role of the state in the economy, the report
recalls.

                      About Venezuela

Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a
country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a
continental landmass and a large number of small islands and
islets in the Caribbean sea.  The capital is the city of Caracas.

Hugo Chavez was president to Venezuela from 1999 to 2013.  The
Chavez presidency was plagued with challenges, which included a
2002 coup d'etat, a 2002 national strike and a 2004 recall
referendum.  Nicolas Maduro was elected president in 2013 after
the death of Chavez.  Maduro won a second term at the May 2018
Venezuela elections, but this result has been challenged by
countries including Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Canada,
Germany, France and the United States who deemed it fraudulent and
moved to recognize Juan Guaido as president.

The presidencies of Chavez and Maduro have challenged Venezuela
with a socioeconomic and political crisis.  It is marked by
hyperinflation, climbing hunger, poverty, disease, crime and death
rates, social unrest, corruption and emigration from the country.

Moody's has withdrawn 'C' local currency and foreign currency
ceilings for Venezuela in September 2022.  Standard & Poors has
also withdrawn its 'SD/D' foreign currency sovereign credit
ratings
and 'CCC-/C' local currency ratings on Venezuela in September 2021
due to lack of sufficient information.  Fitch withdrew its own
'RD/C' Issuer Default Ratings on Venezuela in June 2019 due to the
imposition of U.S. sanctions on the country's government.



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S U B S C R I P T I O N   I N F O R M A T I O N

Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America is a daily newsletter
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Fernandez, Julie Anne L. Toledo, Ivy B. Magdadaro, and Peter A.
Chapman, Editors.

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